BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 566
                                                                  Page 1

          Date of Hearing:  April 25, 2011

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
                                Wesley Chesbro, Chair
                   AB 566 (Galgiani) - As Amended:  March 22, 2011
           
          SUBJECT  :  Resources:  surface mining

           SUMMARY  :  Requires the State Mining and Geology Board (Board) to 
          provide information on local mineral deposits to local 
          governments and metropolitan planning organizations (MPO) within 
          30 days of a request for the information.

           EXISTING LAW  :  Under the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 
          1975 (SMARA) (Public Resources Code 2710 et. seq.):

          1)Governs surface mining operations and reclamation of mined 
            lands.

          2)Requires the Office of Planning and Research (OPR) to identify 
            areas within the state that are urbanized or are subject to 
            urban expansion or other irreversible land uses that would 
            preclude mineral extraction.

          3)Requires the State Geologist to classify each area identified 
            by OPR as (1) an area that contains mineral deposits and is 
            not of regional or statewide significance; (2) an area that 
            contains mineral deposits and is of regional or statewide 
            significance; or (3) areas containing mineral deposits, the 
            significance of which requires further evaluation. 

          4)Defines "area of regional significance" and "area of statewide 
            significance" as areas designated by the Board that are known 
            to contain deposits of minerals that are of prime importance 
            in meeting future needs for minerals either in a region or the 
            state and, if prematurely developed for alternate incompatible 
            land uses, could result in the permanent loss of minerals.

          5)Requires the State Geologist to transmit the information 
            regarding mineral land classification to the Board for 
            incorporation into the state policy for the reclamation of 
            mined lands and for transmittal to lead agencies (i.e. the 
            public agencies that have the principal responsibility for 
            approving reclamation plans).









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          6)Requires a lead agency, within 12 months of receiving mineral 
            land classification information, to establish mineral 
            resources management policies in its general plan that will, 
            among other things, assist in the management of land use that 
            affect areas of statewide and regional significance and 
            emphasize the conservation and development of identified 
            mineral deposits.

           THIS BILL  :

          1)Requires the Board to transmit mineral land classification 
            information to a lead agency or MPO within 30 days of 
            receiving a request for mineral land classification 
            information identified within the jurisdiction of the lead 
            agency or MPO.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown

           COMMENTS :

           1)Background.   Under existing law, the mineral land 
            classification process identifies lands that contain 
            economically significant mineral deposits.  The classification 
            process includes an assessment of the quantity, quality, and 
            extent of aggregate deposits in a study area.  The primary 
            goal of mineral land classification is to ensure that the 
            mineral resource potential of lands is recognized and 
            considered in land-use planning.  

             According to California Geological Survey, since its inception 
            in 1978, the Mineral Land Classification Project has completed 
            97 classification studies covering approximately 34% of the 
            state.  Thirty-two of these studies, covering about 25% of the 
            state, contain resource areas that provide construction 
            aggregate to over 90% of California's population.  Although 
            all mineral commodities mined in California are studied, 
            special emphasis has been given to construction aggregate 
            because it is the state's most important mineral commodity in 
            terms of tonnage, value, and societal infrastructure.  As 
            California's population continues to expand, the demand for 
            minerals-especially building construction minerals such as 
            aggregate-will similarly grow.  Over 90% of these essential 
            construction resources are transported by truck, which is 
            expensive and tolling on the environment, especially if 
            brought from distant sources.  It would be economically and 








                                                                  AB 566
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            environmentally preferable if sand, gravel, and crushed stone 
            resources were mined in closer proximity to development 
            projects to eliminate the need for long distance hauling.  

          2)Benefits of Local Construction Aggregate.   According to a 
            document produced by the California Department of 
            Transportation (CalTrans) in 2007 regarding construction 
            aggregate, "permitting new aggregate sites would lead to 
            shorter haul distance."  The average haul distance for 
            aggregate in California may be as high as 50 miles.  CalTrans' 
            calculations show that if the average hauling distance was 
            reduced by just 15 miles, aggregate-truck miles would decrease 
            by 282 million miles per year, annual diesel fuel consumption 
            would decrease by 44 million gallons, and truck emissions 
            would decrease by approximately 835.4 tons a year.  

          3)Using Mineral Land Classification Information.   A lead agency 
            may use mineral land classification information to determine 
            if and where it can utilized local construction aggregate for 
            local projects.  Use of local construction aggregate would 
            avoid or mitigate the economic and environmental costs of 
            acquiring the same materials from non-local sources.  

             According to the author, many of the mineral land 
            classification reports were originally transmitted to lead 
            agencies decades ago and may no longer be available for local 
            government planning activities.  Additionally, MPOs may have 
            never received these reports as they were transmitted only to 
            local agencies.  MPOs are now required to gather and analyze 
            information on mineral resources designated by the Board in 
            their regions during their sustainable community development 
            process.  

             The bill would give lead agencies and MPOs the ability to 
            obtain mineral land classification information within 30 days 
            of requesting the information from the Board.  

















                                                                 AB 566
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           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          California Construction and Industrial Materials Association

           Opposition 
           
          None on file

           
          Analysis Prepared by  :  Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916) 
          319-2092